Pitch Black Deception
by aki-nakamura
Summary: Sakura is trying to catch a mass murderer in Konoha, but as she investigates, she bumps into a stranger and falls in love with him. Is the stranger really the man she believes him to be? How does Naruto react to Sakura's new love? PLZ R&R!
1. Preface

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. Unfortunately I never will…but that is besides the point! Ok bottom line is the only reason I would be involved in Naruto is that I watch Naruto and that's it.

A/N: Thank you so much (and I mean that) for checking this story out. It means that I'm actually catching people's attention. lol Well, enjoy this first chapter (more like half a chapter)! And don't forget to review! No flames plz just constructive criticism. Thank you again!

// Preface //

She was dreaming. She had to be. It's just a nightmare, that's all. And yet it was so real. So very real.

The darkness that engulfed her was bleeding with bleakness. Everything about it was intimidating, cold. Nothing friendly about it.

She had no idea where she was and no way to find out. From what she could gather, she was alone…

"What's wrong, Sakura?"

…until she heard that. A male's voice. A rough, but intoxicating voice.

Her head whipped around behind her. She knew that voice.

"Aw. Did I scare you? I'm sorry. Next time I'll be more careful."

He was toying with her. She knew it. His voice was different from its usual sweetness. More cruel and uncaring.

"Oh, but wait." His voice all of a sudden became vicious and bloodthirsty. "There won't be a next time."

Then it hit her like a kunai to the head. How could she have believed him? He never loved her. He probably couldn't care less about her. Why did she see through him? She was so desperate for love. She knew Sasuke would never come back for her, but she just didn't want to admit it to herself. Denial, and now deception.

When she thought of it some more, she could see her mistake. Naruto. He was with me the whole time and I pushed him away. Forever. What have I done? Now she could only pray that someone would find her before it's too late.

Before she could comprehend what was going on, she was hit hard in the back of the head and her head hit the floor.

"Naruto, I'm sorry," she whispered, while passing out.

Yes it's very short, but it's more of an introduction/sneak peek of what's to come. So what'd ya think? Tell me in a review! Haha that was cheesy. I'm sorry I didn't give you much to work with, but I wanted to get this story out there before I forgot it and lose the motivation, which I do a lot. Thanks (for the millionth time) for reading!

Aki


	2. First Impressions

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. Unfortunately I never will…but that is beside the point! Ok bottom line is the only reason I would be involved in Naruto is that I watch Naruto and that's it.

A/N: Hey again everyone! Sorry about the really crappy last chapter! The normal chapters will probably be longer…much longer. So enjoy this second one called First Impressions!! =D

michiyo-sakamoto: Hi!

Me: Whoa! Where'd you come from?

michiyo-sakamoto: I'm always here!

Me: Okay that's just scary…

michiyo-sakamoto: What's scary?

Me: Eh nevermind…

~/*/~ First Glance ~/*/~

'Ugh. I hate mornings.'

Sakura slowly sat up in bed and yawned while stretching a couple of times to wake herself up. She dragged her body to the bathroom, gave herself a disgusted look as she saw the disaster that was her hair, and brushed her teeth.

A few minutes later, she checked herself in the mirror for any oversights and was ready to leave for training with her master, Tsunade. 'Who was probably hung over from drinking too much sake,' she thought to herself with a smile.

When Sakura arrived at the Hokage office, she found Shizune worriedly looking over Tsunade's shoulder. Tsunade held a straight, serious face while looking at a report.

'Something must be wrong,' Sakura thought, 'Nothing else could get Tsunade so serious in the morning.'

"Uh, Master Tsunade? Shizune? Is something wrong?" Sakura inquired, cautiously.

"Sakura, I'm canceling your training-"

"What? Why? I still have so much to learn!" Sakura objected.

"Listen! It will only be temporarily. You have heard about the mass killings lately, right?"

Sakura nodded her understanding.

"Well, ANBU still has no leads on the criminal. So I'm going to put you in this investigation. Anything you find will be directly reported to me and no one else, got it?"

"Hai."

"Ok, you'll start here," Tsunade said as she flipped a photo of an apartment building around to face Sakura, "This is the latest crime scene a few blocks from the Academy. We need to find this guy before anything else happens. Your training will resume once we've cracked this case. You will make this your top priority, ok? Good luck," Tsunade said, sending Sakura off to her new assignment.

Once Sakura closed the door behind her with Shizune following her, Tsunade slumped back into a more comfortable sitting postion and sighed.

"Just be careful, Sakura. This guy seems like a dangerously tricky one. Don't let your guard down, please," she spoke with concern to an imaginary Sakura.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

'Ugh just what needed. This is probably gonna result is sleepless nights and early mornings," Sakura thought, dreading her new assignment.

"Thanks, Shizune. I think I know where I'm going. You don't have to babysit," Sakura told Shizune with an appreciative smile.

"Oh no it's ok. I have to talk to ANBU anyways," Shizune replied with a returned smile.

Just a block ahead of them, the two could see the outlines of several ANBU members with their red and white masks. Yellow tape surrounded a small area in front of a light red apartment building, marking the crime scene.

Just as Sakura was getting into her "investigation mood", Naruto jumps out from what appears to be nowhere.

"Hey, Sakura! What'cha doing? You wanna go get some ramen? On me?" He rambled as Sakura became frustrated by his sudden appearance.

"On you? Or are you just saying that to get me to go with you?" Sakura said with a smirk.

"Ok, yeah you caught me, but please?" Naruto pleaded.

'Ha! As if! But I have to admit, he looks funny when he begs…maybe even cute? Whoa! What am I saying?' Sakura's inner self debated with herself.

"No, Naruto. I have work to do. Maybe you should find something to do with your time other than eating ramen. Training sounds like a good alternative," Sakura tried to say, calmly, but let a hint of sarcasm slip through.

"Aw c'mon, Sakura! I already did! Really! Kakashi-sensei and I trained all day!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That's great, but I really do have work to do. So…um…maybe later," she saw his disappointed face start to turn around to leave and she sighed, "I promise," she added with a soft, sweet smile. Her cheeks turned a faint pink, but not enough for Naruto to notice.

"Really?! Awesome! See ya around, Sakura!" Naruto skipped away.

'Why do I have to be such a sucker for him? There's just something about him…' Sakura said to herself, 'Whatever. Time to get to work.'

"Alright, Sakura. I'll see you later. Good luck with the investigation," Shizune waved goodbye.

"Bye, Shizune!" Sakura waved back. She stood there watching the outline of Shizune slowly disappear over the horizon and turned around to find an ANBU member.

"Hello. My name is Haruno Sakura. I was assigned here as of today by Hokage-sama. Could you please inform me of all the evidence and information you have collected from this site and the other crime scenes," Sakura said, professionally.

"Hai. As far as we know, we are dealing in with a professional who has definitely done this many times. There was barely any evidence. Only this serrated knife and and the victim's body, drained of blood. The weird thing is that the knife is clean and there is no blood any within the perimeter of the crime scene, and that's about it," the ANBU read off a clipboard.

"Hm. I see. Have you investigated anywhere else for evidence? If not, I wish to do some background checks on the victim and where she went the day she was killed."

"No we have not. I will go get the files on the victim right away," he said before he vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura stood in her place for a few minutes, gathering information with what she could see. She walked over to the body to see for herself how gruesome it was.

The body was definitely drained of blood. The girl, from all she could gather from her horror-stricken, blood-drained face, was in her mid teens. Possibly the same age as herself.

After searching through the scene and double-checking for any kind of evidence, Sakura stepped out of the sectioned off area to work through her thoughts. She became so engrossed in her daydreaming that she didn't see him until it was too late.

"Ow! Hey!" Sakura was bummed from her side, knocking her to the ground.

"Oh, excuse me. I'm sorry," said a gentle, male voice that Sakura was not familiar with.

He offered his hand out to pull her up. Sakura took his hand and looked at his face for the first time. He was a very handsome young man. Dark brown, shaggy hair framed his light tan face. He had piercing blue eyes, the color of water and ice. His gaze froze her in its trance and melted her heart all at once.

"Oh! Um, he, no it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention," Sakura started, falling all over him, but recovered with her professionalism, "But I'm sorry. This is a restricted area. How did you get through to this section of the street?"

"Oh! Again, I'm very sorry. You see, I'm new here and I just stumbled here on accident. I think it must have been a wrong turn. I'll just leave now. Sorry for disturbing your work," he apologized sweetly and started walking in the opposite direction.

'He's a talker. Trying to sweet me, huh?,' Sakura thought with a smirk, 'well, it's working pretty well, heh.'

"Oh, wait! I didn't catch your name!" Sakura said after him.

The stranger turned his head, "My name's…"

~/*/~/*/~/*/~

A/N: Alright! Second chapter! Hopefully this was a more filling chapter for you to digest! Sorry about the awkward ending. Don't forget to tell what you thought of the chapter and suggestions would be great cuz I don't have a set plan for this story! Well, bye bye, now!

~Aki~


	3. And We Meet Again

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. Unfortunately I never will…but that is beside the point! Ok bottom line is the only reason I would be involved in Naruto is that I watch Naruto and that's it.

A/N: So basically I'm not sure at all how long this is going to be or how long it's going to take, but please bear with me! You are always welcome to review and help me improve my writing, story, etc. Oh and sorry for random typos and grammar errors. Alright now on with the fic!

~/*/~ And We Meet Again ~/*/~

The stranger turned his head, "My name's Ryuu. And may I ask yours?" he asked with a smile.

"Of course! The name's Sakura. Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you."

"And it is my pleasure, Sakura. I guess you'd better get back to your work; it seems very serious. Maybe I will see you around." Then he waved farewell as he walked away, leaving Sakura with her mouth slightly open and in a daze.

"Yeah…maybe," she whispered, barely audible to anyone by her.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

"This isn't making any sense at all!" Sakura released a frustrated shout at her desk at home. Around her were piles of files ranging from victim backgrounds to the murder weapon.

It was 2 a.m. on the third day of the investigation and Sakura still had no major leads to who or how the people in the pictures on her desk were killed. Trying to relax her mind, Sakura went to her kitchen to grab a glass of water and walked out to her balcony overlooking to village. She rested her elbows on the railing and let out a deep sigh.

She let her thought wander and eventually recalled the memory of the handsome man she had run into on her first day. "Wow, he was hot," she thought out loud. Her thoughts continued to roam as they suddenly stopped at Sasuke. Her grip on the glass of water tightened as she replayed the day he left the village to chase after power instead of friendship. Instead of love…

"Ah who am I kidding? Would he still have come to me had he stayed here?"

'HELL YEAH!' Inner Sakura replied.

"Psh. Whatever," Sakura brushed off the thought by slugging off to bed. She lay there for another hour, staring at the ceiling with her mind in a jumble.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Sakura woke to a loud banging noise from the front door.

"SAKURA! YOU PROMISED TO HANG OUT WITH MEEE!" came the obnoxious sound echoing to banging.

"Crap, it's Naruto." Sakura rolled out of bed and pulled on her signature red dress and her forehead protector. She took a deep breath before opening the door only to find a grinning Naruto in front of her face. "Hey Naruto."

"Sakura! Hey let's go get something to eat! Like ramen!"

"Heh. Fine, Naruto, let's go. You're paying though remember? That was the agreement." Sakura smiled to herself as she eyed Naruto looking at his deflated frog coin bag.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

"So Sakura, how's that investigation thing going? Have ya kicked anyone's ass yet?" Naruto eagerly questioned as they walked to Ichiraku Ramen.

"Not quite. First of all, we don't really kick anyone's ass. It's just finding evidence to catch the guy and only maybe we'll kick his ass." Sakura stated matter-of-factly. " I just hope we find him soon so that we can stop these killings."

Naruto rushed to the entrance of the restaurant. "I'm back!" he announced, peeking his head then the rest of his body into full view. Sakura was just about to step inside, following Naruto when out of the corner of her eye she spotted a familiar sight.

'Could that really be him again? Now's my chance to talk to him! But I can't just leave Naruto when we just got here.' Sakura debated inside her head as she seated herself at the bar.

The two finished their meal and then it was time to pay the check. The check, the part Naruto did not want to come. Before she knew it, Naruto started a heated argument with the owner about him having to clean the dishes. Sakura took the opportunity to sneak the appropriate amount of money to pay for both herself and Naruto next to the finished meal and slipped outside. 'God he's so hopeless.' Sakura thought while shaking her head.

"Okay. Now back to Mission: Hot Guy," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh my God! Ryuu! Oh, hi! You scared me. I didn't even hear you!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Of course. What would be the point in scaring you if you knew I was there already?" Ryuu smiled playfully. "So are you just gonna ditch your friend like that?"

"Oh, Naruto? Don't worry about it. I paid for the meal, but he needs to learn a lesson or two about cleaning dishes anyways." They both laughed at the thought of Naruto's unseemliness.

The couple began to walk through the village in no particular direction, just to simply talk and get to know each other.

"So where are you traveling from? You said you are from out-of-town," inquired Sakura.

"Actually, I don't really have a specific place I'm from. I was born in the country, but was orphaned when my house burned down along with my parents." came his reply.

'Wow what a downer. Way to go, Sakura. There goes the mood.' Inner Sakura complained.

"I'm so sorry!" Sakura immediately replied.

"It's no big deal," Ryuu said with his sweetest smile. "Now I just travel all over and I get to see and experience many different things I never knew existed before."

"That's incredible. I'm jealous. The only traveling I do is when I'm on a mission, but even then, I can't sightsee or anything."

"You should try sometime. Maybe we could leave together! Doesn't ninja work get tiring?" Ryuu proposed.

"Yeah, but that's part of the fun. The feeling of accomplishing a mission and showing off what your training has done can't be compared to anything else." Sakura smiled, thinking of the many adventures she had been on and the obstacles she had to overcome.

"That's really impressive. I always like girls who are hard-working and are independent." Ryuu's smooth talking sweetened his smile and warmed the surroundings.

"You really mean that?" Sakura turned beet-red. Every second, she fell deeper in love with everything Ryuu had to offer. His words, personality, and the aura he gave off made her feel so comfortable as if she had known him forever.

The resumed their conversation on a bench near the training grounds until the sun began to set, setting the sky ablaze with the fire of love.

"Would you like to join me for dinner?" Ryuu asked.

"I would love too, Ryuu, really I would, but the thing is I have to get back to work." Sakura hated to pushed him away after such a nice time together, but business first and pleasure later.

"That's fine, but maybe next time?" suggested Ryuu while pulling a rose from behind his back.

"Wow. It's beautiful, Ryuu1 Thank you! And definitely!"

"Then it's settled. I will see you later, Sakura." He took Sakura's hand and kissed it gently and stared into her eyes almost like he was looking into her soul. He then walked away leaving Sakura breathless.

"If only ever guy I met was like that. Then my life would be complete." Sakura buried her nose in the rose and giggled to herself.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Once again Sakura found herself in front of her piled high desk. She was staring at pictures of the murder weapon: the knife.

"How can someone use this and not have any traces of blood on it?" Sakura began to ask herself. "What if this wasn't even the weapon he used? This isn't the kind of thing a…normal person…." Sakura trailed off and her eyes widened. "A shinobi!"

"A fellow shinobi could have caused this. But, why? There's a possibility that he's from Konoha, but he could also be from a neighboring country."

Sakura sprinted to the door on her way to the Hokage's office. As she ran, she saw a familiar face. "Ryuu?" she tried.

"Oh. Hey Sakura. I was just about to get something to eat. Are you sure you can't join me?" he inquired hopefully.

"I'm really sorry, Ryuu, but I really can't because I might have a huge clue in the investigation I'm doing." she apologized.

"Well you better get on your way. That's very important. Next time, then. Bye," Ryuu walked off alone down the street.

'Ugh! I really wanted to go too, but now I still have to go see Hokage!' Her disappointment seeped into her thoughts.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Sakura finally reached the Hokage's office and swiftly opened the door to find a sleeping Tsunade. 'How freakin' typical.'

"Tsunade-sama!" Tsunade slowly opened her eyes and scratched the back of her head.

"Sakura, it's you. What's wrong?"

"I think the murderer is a shinobi." Sakura said bluntly.

"What?!" Tsunade seemed as surprised as Sakura had been when she made the discovery. "How did you come across a conclusion like that?"

"There's no other explanation. The drained body, the knife with no blood, and on top of that, there were no witnesses or neighbors who heard anything when it was in an apartment building." Sakura urged.

"Hm I guess that increases the possibility of a shinobi then. Good work, Sakura. I will alert ANBU at once. Keep working on it and don't let your guard up," Tsunade ordered.

"Hai!"

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

"At least we're getting somewhere," Sakura started talking to herself again until a certain someone called her.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Great, now it's Naruto."

"Hey Sakura-cahn. Today was fun wasn't it?" Naruto laughed with a grin, trying to be as casual as possible.

'Yeah sure. If your thoughts on fun include getting into a fight and me paying for lunch,' Inner Sakura answered.

"Yeah, Naruto. Whatever you say, but I've got to get back to work. So, bye."

"Wait, Sakura! Please, let's do it again sometime. I'm sorry you ended up paying! I swear that next time will be different! Please," Naruto was at the point of getting on his knees. He knew Sakura was pissed because he constantly promised to same thing only to not follow through with it.

"Oh grow up, Naruto! You think everything can be solved with a sorry? Too bad because I am already with someone anyways," Sakura retorted.

"Y-you are? No, but please I do better this time!" Naruto pleaded.

"No, Naruto! Get away from me; I'm busy!" Sakura turned her back to Naruto and walk away, leaving Naruto alone in the middle of the street almost at the brink of tears.

~/*/~/*/~/*/~

A/N: Alright! The third chapter is done! That's probably the fastest update I've ever done. Hehe. Well as usual, don't forget to review! I'll try to get the next one up ASAP.

~Aki~


	4. As We Kiss Goodbye

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. Unfortunately I never will…but that is beside the point! Ok bottom line is the only reason I would be involved in Naruto is that I watch Naruto and that's it.

A/N: So I'm thinking I'm probably gonna end this story pretty soon so that there won't be any filler-type chapters. This chapter is a song chapter in Naruto's POV because i really wanted to do one. The song is called "As We Kiss Goodbye" by Tohoshinki (aka DBSK or TVXQ). The lyrics will be in _italics_ and the translation will be in _italics_ and _(parentheses)._ I did not romanize or translate this myself so sorry if there are any mistakes. So here we go! I hope you like it!

~/*/~ As We Kiss Goodbye ~/*/~

After Sakura had completely denied Naruto, he found himself walking aimlessly around Konoha and ended up in the field where he perfected his Rasengan.

~/*/~

_Blink...smell it...and feel it..._

_Open, open your eyes_

_Just look at me now_

~/*/~

Naruto was motionless as he laid in the grass, looking up at the stars. His eyes darted from star to star just as his heart was pulled from one emotion to another.

~/*/~

_Boku no sekai no subete data_

_(You were my world)_

~/*/~

He couldn't get her face out of his head. He replayed the whole scene over and over again with every detail:

~/*/~

_Nakushita katahou no kutsu mo oreta chiisai tsume mo_

_(One lost shoe, a small broken fingernail)_

~/*/~

the vemon in her voice, the fire in her eyes, the coldness he felt when she turned away.

~/*/~

_Koboshita atsui coffee mo iroaseta namida mo_

_(The spilled hot coffee and stale tears too)_

~/*/~

But even so, he still saw the beauty in her heart and couldn't get away from it. He just wanted to at least hear her voice one more time.

~/*/~

_Girl, tell me little lie_

_Please, tell me little lie_

_Kikoeru you ni_

_(So that I can hear you)_

~/*/~

If only he had been fully committed to her and followed through with his promises. Maybe then she would have stayed by his side. His whole body was flooded with regret and guilt.

~/*/~

_Demo yawarakaku kono te kara koboreta kimi_

_(But you just softly slipped away...)_

~/*/~

"Now that I messed up permanently, she's already with another guy. Psh. He's just a pretty face who came out of nowhere. He's got nothing against Uzumaki Naruto, the next Hokage!"

~/*/~

_Longway people_

_Longway people_

_Sou, kizukanakatta ano hi hanashi kakeru_

_(That's right...we were unaware that day, just talking)_

~/*/~

"Who am I kidding? Sakura's already fallen head over heels for the guy. She probably won't even give me another chance…Well I guess I've used up enough chances though. Can I even move on from her now? She's the only one I've felt this way about.

~/*/~

_Longway people_

_Longway people_

_Tada naite naite naite wasureru shika nai?_

_(Just crying...crying...crying...Can I forget?)_

~/*/~

"DAMMIT!"

~/*/~

_Nagaku tsuzuku kono michi ni ima wa inai kimi e_

_(On this never-ending road that you're no longer on)_

_Kiss shita mama goodbye_

_(As we kiss goodbye)_

~/*/~

Loneliness crept up next to him once again to become his best friend. For the first time in years, he felt cold and alone.

~/*/~

_Girl, tell me little lie_

_Please, tell me little lie_

_Kikoeru you ni_

_(So that I can hear you)_

~/*/~

He allowed the tears to flow. They streamed faster and faster, slowly resembling the waterfall next to him. He felt like they were drowning him, but he couldn't stop.

~/*/~

_Ima furitsumoru konayuki ga boku wo dakishimeru_

_(Now the snow piles up, enveloping me)_

~/*/~

He wanted the old days back, when he first made friends and when he first met Sakura. Everything that once was, he wanted back, even if that meant Sakura loving Sasuke again. He could take it. At least Sasuke didn't feel the same way about her.

~/*/~

_Longway people_

_Longway people_

_Sou, kizukanakatta ano hi hanashi kakeru_

_(That's right...we were unaware that day, just talking)_

~/*/~

Naruto was still stuck in the past. There was no way for him to forget every moment with Sakura he had.

~/*/~

_Longway people_

_Longway people_

_Tada naite naite naite wasureru shika nai no?_

_(Just crying...crying...crying...Can I forget?)_

~/*/~

But once again he felt the pang of guilt. All he has done was hurt and burden Sakura with his stubbornness and thoughtlessness. He opened his eyes to the stars as they were his only company.

~/*/~

_Kioku ni nijinda namida no kazu wa kawaite iku boku no kokoro_

_(Blurred in the memories, the number of my tears (my heart will dry))_

_Kazoe kirenai, hoshi no you ni_

_(Are countless, like the stars)_

~/*/~

He wanted to make it up to her. "But how? This isn't just another apology." It's not a matter of forgive and forget.

~/*/~

_Longway people_

_Longway people_

_Tada naite naite naite wasureru shika nai_

_(Just crying...crying...crying...Can I forget?)_

~/*/~

"She already has my heart, but what else do I have to give?"

_Longway people..._

_I know..._

_Kimi wa mune no naka ni itsumademo_

_(I know you will live in my heart forever)_

~/*/~

"Sakura-chan, can't you see my true feelings? I'm not just stupid, old Naruto anymore! All I want to do is protect you! I-I love you…"

~/*/~

_Longway people_

_Longway people_

_Tada naite naite naite_

_(I'm just crying, crying crying)_

~/*/~

"I don't want to hurt you anymore. I want to by your side forever."

~/*/~

_Kiss shita mama..._

_(As we kiss…)_

~/*/~

"So please…"

~/*/~

_Sayonara..._

_(Goodbye…)_

~/*/~

"Don't walk away!"

He let the rest of his tears out as he begged the stars to grant his wish. Exhaustion finally took over and Naruto drifted into a deep sleep as a breeze brushed by him as if it were comforting his sorrows.

~/*/~/*/~/*/~

A/N: I would recommend looking up the song and even the group because they have a lot of good songs if you're not familiar with them. Ok, well I know the chapter was kinda short because of the song, but the next chapter will definitely have more progress and will be much longer. Please R&R and stay tuned for the next chapter!

~Aki~


	5. Because We're Friends

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. Unfortunately I never will…but that is beside the point! Ok bottom line is the only reason I would be involved in Naruto is that I watch Naruto and that's it.

A/N: The next installment is finally here! Once again this will be in Naruto's POV. There is going to be a very short flashback in this one so I'll put it in _italics_, okey doke? So I hope you enjoy!

~/*/~ Because We're Friends ~/*/~

Naruto slowly opened his eyes to the dawning horizon. The birds chirped happily as they went along with their daily rituals. Naruto felt at peace amidst the utopian scenery until he remembered the events from last night. His stomach dropped at the thought of it all. 'Damn that Ryuu.' He decided to try to forget his troubles, at least for a while, by walking back to his apartment to take a shower.

The streets were still dark since it was so early. Naruto made use of the emptiness to clear his mind and breathe the fresh air as he walked. Unfortunately, the more he tried, the more he couldn't erase Ryuu's face from his thoughts. Naruto's hallucinations were so realistic, it almost seemed as if Ryuu was walking along the same street as him. Naruto rubbed his eyes to rid himself of the image, but realized that Ryuu was actually walking right his way along the bridge that crossed the small river.

"Ryuu? What are you doing this early?" Naruto broke the silence first.

"Naruto? Well, I wasn't thinking that normal people were out at this time, but I guess I was wrong," Ryuu gave a greeting smile, "I decided to exercise a little since I had a hard time sleeping last night. What about yourself? Taking a morning walk too?"

'God, his smile makes me sick.' Naruto thought, but forced it to the back of his mind. "Yeah, same here. I had a rough night last night, but I'm heading back home now so I guess I'll see you around, then. Bye."

"Is that so? Yes, I'll see you later. Take care."

With that the two brushed past each other swiftly. Naruto went back to his thoughts unaware of the sly stare Ryuu gave him as they past.

'What an unsuspecting child…" Ryuu snickered to himself. He unfolded his jacket to peer at a certain serrated knife tucked cozily between the jacket and his body.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

"Hmph. I just can't trust him. Something about him makes me want to punch him in the face and fuck up his-" Naruto stopped in the middle of his rant to stare at the sight before him. A young woman's body lay out feet from where he stood, her body thrown unceremoniously on the bank of the river. "Oh, oh my, oh my GOD!" He ran as fast as he could to the first person that came to his mind.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Bang. Bang. Bang.

"Sakura open up! It's an emergency!

"Huh?" Sakura mumbled in her sleep, then sat up quickly when she realized what the voice outside her door was saying.

"Sakura! It's Naruto! Hurry and open the door!" Naruto continued to plead.

"Oh it's just Naruto," Sakura sunk back into her bed. "Go away, Naruto. It's too early for this."

"No, this has nothing to do with yesterday! There's a dead person at the river!" Naruto finally revealed.

"What did you just say?!" Sakura abruptly jumped out of bed and ran to open the door.

Naruto was startled by Sakura's sudden morning appearance, but remembered the reason for his visit.

"Take me to it. Hurry," was all Sakura said as she hurriedly draped a jacket over herself.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

As the crime scene came into view, Sakura ran to the corpse.

"This is definitely the same guy. And the scene's still fresh too. Naruto when did you find this?" she questioned.

"I literally just found it," Naruto replied. No other words would come out of his mouth. He was still to shocked by what he had discovered.

"What were you doing here so early in the morning anyways?" Sakura couldn't help but wonder.

"Uh, I was just taking a walk. Ya know morning exercise and training stuff." He refused to tell Sakura his true reasons for being out this whole time, for obvious reasons.

"Hm I see. Well did you happen to see anyone around here beforehand?"

"Actually, I did see Ryuu. He said he was exercising too and something like he couldn't sleep last night or something."

"Ryuu? I never knew he did that kind of thing, but anyways we need to tell Tsunade-sama about this right away. Let's go."

Naruto scoffed at Sakura's change of heart towards Ryuu, but brushed it off to avoid another fight with Sakura. "Yeah yeah. Let's go already."

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura shouted firmly to wake her master up.

"Huh? What! I'm up!" she clumsily said while knocking over the empty sake bottle on her desk. "Sakura! Naruto! Wh-what's wrong? You guys are here quite early in the morning."

"Tsunade-sama, there has been a new killing just this morning. Naruto discovered the body along the bank of the river in Konoha. The body was just starting to get cold, so it had to have happened within a couple of hours. There's were no possible suspects that Naruto saw either," Sakura reported.

"But Sakura, what about Ryuu? I saw him walking from that direct-" Naruto tried to whisper to Sakura before she elbowed him to be quiet. "Ow!"

"Damn. Now we have another one on our hands. Naruto, are you sure you didn't see any one?"

"Grandma Tsunade, the truth is, I did see someone. His name is Ryuu and he's new to Konoha, but the thing is I still don't trust something about him."

"Tsunade-sama! I can assure you the Ryuu would never do any thing of the sort! I know him personally and can vouch for him. Ryuu knows nothing about harming anyone let alone killing someone as brutally as the killer we're seeking." Sakura gave Naruto a hard glare.

"Naruto I'm sorry, but I have to trust Sakura on this. She actually knows him, while you are just making assumptions based on your feelings. You both are dismissed. I will alert ANBU immediately so we can investigate the new crime scene."

"Hai!"

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

"Sakura! Wait up! I need to talk to you!" Naruto chased after Sakura as they left the Hokage's office building.

Sakura turned sharply to face him. Her face reflected her rage against Naruto, "Naruto I just can't believe you! You're just trying to frame Ryuu because you're jealous! Well you should be jealous because he is everything you could never be!"

"Can you just listen to me?!" Now Naruto was upset as well. He tried to keep himself steady as he told Sakura his secret. "There's something I saw that I want to tell you. It's has nothing to do with jealousy or you. Just listen."

Sakura stopped herself and decided to lend her ear to Naruto's change of tone. "Go on, then. I'm listening."

His mind went back to after his major screw up with Sakura as he was walking to the field as he told his story.

~/*/~ _Flashback_ ~/*/~

_Naruto's heart was in pieces. The world was completely blurred through his glazed eyes. He had no idea where he was headed. At that moment, he managed to make out the face of the man who was slowly destroying his life, Ryuu._

_He had his arm around a young woman's waist with a glint in his eye. The oblivious woman looked like she had partied a little too hard and possibly drank a few too many. Naruto shrugged to himself._

'_So his a player after all. How could Sakura have fallen for him. What does he have that makes her so into him?' Naruto couldn't help but think._

_The two made their way to an apartment complex, struggling to climb the stairs to the woman's level. The couple eventually slipped into the apartment and Naruto continued forward on his way to wherever._

~/*/~ _End of Flashback_ ~/*/~

"So what you're trying to tell me is that the girl Ryuu was with is the girl on the river bank?" Naruto nodded. "This is ridiculous! You expect me to believe that Ryuu is cheating on me and that he's a fucking murderer?! This is going way too far, Naruto. I thought I told you how I feel about you. so why do you insist on accusing Ryuu of all this? Get over it! You are not my lover and never will be" Sakura couldn't take it anymore and let out all her stress on Naruto.

"But I'm still your friend!" The words escaped out of Naruto's mouth. He didn't anticipate the ferocity they would hold. His head immediately dropped to hide the sincerity in his eyes as they watered. "And I won't. I can't let anyone hurt my friends. I know what I saw, Sakura. It's up to you to choose whom you'd rather believe in." Naruto clenched his fists and briskly ran away from Sakura in the direction of his house.

This time it was Sakura's turn to be abandoned in the middle of Konoha. Her eyes searched the landscape as if looking for an answer. What should she be feeling now? A comforting hand was placed on Sakura's shoulder at that moment along with a familiar voice.

"I'm here if you would like to talk."

~/*/~/*/~/*/~

A/N: Soooo how was it? For some reason it took longer than I expected to write this one, but oh well. It's finished now and that's what matters, right? Sorry if there are a lot of grammar issues and what not. I finished this at 3:30am, not kidding lol. It's the only time I can be creative. Ok, as usual, don't forget to review please! Thank you!

~Aki~


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